Top 5 Beauty Hacks From The Experts

Uncover some of best kept secrets from the pro’s in makeup artistry Gain an insiders view to the tips and life hacks from the multi-million pound industry that is make-up artistry. Our top five spills the best secrets to looking flawless with a professional look.

Exclusively revealed by James Vincent, celebrity makeup artist and director of artistry for Ardency Inn, Add your favourite blush to the cheeks before you apply foundation Lightly stroking over blusher over the apples of the cheeks before tackling your skin with your favourite foundation will give a soft, dewy complexion that will show off radiance and a nice healthy glow. After using primer on the skin, use a bright, warm pink on the cheeks before you apply foundation for a glow that looks like it’s coming from beneath the skin.

We are all used to testing foundation or blush colours on the backs of our hands. It’s not uncommon to see people squirting out a smudge of foundation at a beauty counter to test the colour palette against their skin. This is a big no, no! Any professional make up artist will hold their face in their hands in horror at the thought of this. As complexion colours, products that will be applied to your face should colour-match an area of your skin that is not exposed to sunlight or UV rays daily – I recommend the inside of your arm for this. Just gently dab a smudge of the product onto your skin and gently blend for some coverage. And now you will see a much more truer match with your skin tone.

During the summer months, every girl loves a splash of bronzer or adding that bit of extra highlighter to the cheekbones. However there are those who take it too far and the tango effect turns into an epidemic when walking down your high street. Unlike MTV’s Snooki (pictured below) avoid the oompa-loompa look and weird stares by gently building up your bronzing powder on the neck, face and chest to even out your skin tone. If possible apply in front of a mirror, step back and take a good look to make sure you haven’t missed any areas or decide do you really need to add another layer? The same procedure goes for blusher – go lighter and build up the effect.

Probably one of the best yet unrealistic tools for a professional cats eye look is Scotch or micropore tape. Yep that’s right, hunt around in that drawer in your hallway that is sanctuary for all your homeless household items, find some tape and it’ll be your best friend. Use the tape as a stencil to go for a more daring look such as the cats eye – it will help you to achieve a more even and balanced look for both eyes. Not only is it suitable as a stencil for defined eye shadows, but also for blush and contouring on the cheek. You’ll find that carefully placing the tape under eyelashes and directing towards the outer edge of your eyebrow will also act as a great tool for applying winged-out eye liner. Don’t worry about it falling off – it’ll easily sit in place and is easy to dispose. Just proceed with make up application and carefully peel off – you’ll be left with no fallen residue underneath and clean sharp lines that’ll add drama and glamour.

That key make-up bag must-have is the mascara wand. You may not step out of the front door without thick lashings of black mascara but you could actually be harming your eye health by wearing old or clumpy mascara. It is recommended that we replace our mascara every 3-4 months. Yep that means dumping your favourite Benefit They’re Real tube or Chanel Le Volume after their 12 week birthday. Using old mascara for volume and length on your lashes could be harvesting harmful bacteria causing nasty eye infections and will give you clumpy or dried out undesirable results.